Monday, November 30, 2015

Today's picture shows the Mercado San Juan. The picture was taken around 1910. Mercado means market, so this was the San Juan market in Mexico City. It looks very much like what I remember Mexican markets to be in the 1960's when we would visit Mexico.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

South of the Border Week continues here at OPOD with this picture of a Mexican Train Station. The picture was taken around 1900. No location is given, but the terrain looks fairly barren, so I am betting it was in the northern part of the country.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Since last week was Canada Week, it seems only appropriate to look at our neighbors to the south this week. So, welcome to South of the Border week here at OPOD. We start with this picture from around 1900. Mexican Army Conscripts are being loaded on a train. The recruited men were Yaqui Indians.

Friday, November 27, 2015

We wrap up Canada Week with this picture of a successful deer hunt. The picture was taken in Canada. I am not sure how popular hunting is in Canada now days, but I would imagine they would have some great animals.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Today we have a picture of the Canadian Welcome Wagon. It is from 1905, and looks to be a drivable trolley type car. The car sports all type of advertisements for visiting or relocating to Canada. A very interesting vehicle!

Monday, November 23, 2015

I have visited Canada several times on business trips, but never got the chance to experience the splendor of nature there. The picture above is a shot of the Bow Valley near Alberta Canada. What a beautiful place this must be. The picture was taken in 1910.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Welcome to Canada Week here at OPOD. We will be looking at pictures of our Northern Neighbors and we start with this picture of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police, more popularly known as a "Mountie". The picture was taken in 1915.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

We have another interesting picture of a horse-drawn fire engine from the early 1900's. Interesting that the sign on the building reads "Chemical Engine House". It makes me wonder if this unit focused on fire extinguishers and not water fire fighting.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

This is a very interesting picture showing the early days of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The picture was taken in 1887. You can see the fire house, several fire wagons and the firemen. Most interesting, it appears they have a dog. I really do not know how the tradition started of having a dog mascot for fire departments, but it appears to have been going on all the way back to the time of this picture.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Today's picture is from around 1900 and it shows a fire engine being drawn down the street by three white horses. The horses appear to be in full gallop. Also, I find interesting that the tires on the fire engine appear to maybe have rubber rings on them. I was not aware that rubber had been used on tires before its use on automobile tires.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Welcome to Fire Fighter Week here at OPOD. We will be looking at the men and equipment used to fight fires over the last hundred years. We start with this picture from Washington DC taken around 1900. It shows a horse-drawn fire engine. It looks like they are getting ready to back the rig into the fire house.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

It always amazes me how quickly after the invention of the airplane, men decided to race them. This picture was taken in 1910, and shows the start of an air race at the Boston Aero Meet. How exciting this must have been to watch in the early days of flight.

Monday, November 9, 2015

Welcome to Speed Week here at OPOD. We will be looking at the early days of people moving really fast. We start with this picture of Bob Burman, one of the very early race car drivers. The picture was taken in 1915.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Another mainstay of carnival midways is the sideshow. The sideshow pictured above is from a carnival that was in Kentucky in 1940. It is advertising that for only 5 cents you can see the world's largest hog. My experience has been that the sideshows rarely lived up to the hype in the billboards and promises of the carnival "barkers".

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Another memorable part of carnivals and midways is the food. The food is not known for its nutritional value, and in many cases, it does not taste that good. Case in point is Cotton Candy. As far as I can tell, cotton candy is simply spun sugar and a little coloring. I dont think it has any flavor other than sweet. I am not sure exactly the process used to make the fluffy ball of sugar. Even as a child, I did not really like the cotton candy.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

How many of you remember the Horse Carousel ride? It looks simple enough . . . carved horses that you sit on as the ride takes them around in a circle. Some of the horses just go in a circle, and others go up and down as the carousel spins around. Actually, this ride made me very sick, so It did not ride it very often. I was fine on things like roller coasters that just went up and down and turned, but I was not so good on things that go in a circle.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Today's picture is from a carnival in Ohio in 1938. The sideshow booth is advertising "Phrenology". Phrenology is sort of like palm reading, but instead of reading the lines on your hand, they read the bumps on your head. While you still see people claiming to be palm readers today, you don't see much Phrenology any more. It does amaze me that anyone would pay to have their future told based on the bumps on their head.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Today we feature a picture of some young ladies loading into a ferris wheel. The picture is from 1942. The Ferris Wheel is my kind of ride. The lines are usually short, the rides are fairly long, and you dont get sick on them, at least I dont.

About Me

I grew up in West Texas, and could not wait to get away. I got away, and went to the University of Texas, and then on to Stanford. I saw the world, and decided what I really wanted was to be in West Texas. So here I am, right back where I started. I had it all, and found it was not that great.

I have been an avid collector of old photographs and documents for over 30
years. The photographs on this site are derived from material I have collected
over the years. Some came from old family albums, some from material I bought at
flea markets over the years, and some from government archives of public domain
images, including the US Library of Congress, and the National Archives. We
appreciate you visiting this blog, and hope you find it interesting.

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